Road: North West International Youth Tour Results

Gabriel Cullaigh (RST Racing Team) took the overall title in the Youth A boys category on Bank Holiday Monday, taking the yellow off the shoulders of Charlie Tanfield (VELO29) by 4 seconds at the end of 28 laps of the 1.25-mile Bispham circuit.

The final stage of the three-day stage race was won by the Czech Republic’s Pavel Camrda.

Fast and furious racing was the order of the day and a frantic pace in the opening laps saw a few tired legs struggling to keep up with the bunch. With the last stage of the weekend many riders were keen to give it one last chance and go for broke.

An early attack on the seventh lap from James Shaw (Cycleshack/Forme Coaching) and Dylan Kerfoot-Robson (Team wales) saw the two get a useful 35 second gap from the bunch only for Shaw to attack his companion and ride away on the following lap managing to hold onto a 15 second lead, a lead which would prove not to be enough and the bunch brought him back on lap 10.

Attacks were coming thick and fast and Fabio Close (Velocity Race Team) was left unchecked and allowed to jump away with Matt Gibson(North West) and soon the 2 would get a useful looking 20 seconds, Close was looking strong and looked determined to stay away dropping his companion.

James Shaw was working well at the head of the bunch but unable to close the gap on Close. Kerfoot-Robson and Ollie Maxwell (Velo Club Rutland) tried to bridge the gap but to no avail and with 10 laps to go Close was still out on his own although the gap was now 10 seconds to the bunch.

With the pace increasing Close was reeled in and the bunch looked content to ride the remaining laps together, Charlie Tanfield controlling the pace sitting on the front with Cullaigh.

With two laps remaining it was Pavel Camrda and team mate Pavel Gruber who made the jump as the bunch crossed the line, with time bonuses on the line the bunch had to react but it was too late, the two Czech riders had got the gap and worked well to stay away.

With the bell ringing for the final lap it was Camrda who was still away and with a chance of a podium finish Camrda buried himself to take the win

Daphne Hommes took a fine victory in Blackpool today to take the overall title in the CDNW International youth tour.

The WRV De Peddelaars youngster attacked the field with 4 laps to go of the 1.25-mile circuit on Blackpool seafront and never looked back.

The circuit took its toll on all but the strongest with a nasty little rise at the bottom end of the circuit which would prove to play its part in the outcome of the race. A spritely bunch saw the early laps off in quick time pretty much staying as one but it was the sixth lap that Abby-Mae Parkinson (RST Race Team) and Kyra Lamberink (WRV) jumped off the front and soon opened up a slender lead over the bunch.

Both girls worked well together putting time into the bunch and managed to stay away until eight laps to go when Melissa Lowther (Aire Valley Race Team) tried to get across to the escapees but the group reacted and brought her back.

Parkinson and Lambernick kept the pace high and managed to stay clear until 5 laps to go when Denisa Bartizalova (Czech Rebublic) came to the front and stirred the bunch into action. Coming into the finishing straight the bunch were all back together but it was Hommes who took the pack by surprise and jumped away on her own, the bunch unable to respond.

With the lapboard showing 3 to go Hommes was in pink on the road and the overall was looking like it would be the Dutch girls for the taking. With Hommes' team mates controlling the front of the bunch the youngster knew she could ride the last couple of laps at her own pace and take the pink jersey back to Holland.

In the youth B girls it was Charlotte Broughton who retained her pink jersey. Broughton led the peloton over the line on several laps, but a puncture mid-race took the momentum out of her attack and left her with work to do.

But the youngster responded and on the bell lap, Broughton again attacked up the hill to then sprint for over 500 meters to win the bunch sprint, the Leicestershire Road Club rider confirming her overall win in style.

Dan Tulett arguably rode the best race of the day to ensure he took the yellow jersey in the youth C boys race. The Hargroves cycles rider along with Peter Kibble(Cycology Bikes) dominated the race and the two worked together well for much of the 18 laps.

Tulett had the sprint legs at the end and took the race win by four seconds and the overall by 24. Matthew Draper (Royal London 360 IOM) was third and Dion McCarthy(Fermoy CC) was forth across the line but did enough to secure 3rd overall.

Alistair Leivers secured his yellow in the youth C category with 5 wins from 5. The BYCA rider dominated the weekend. Nathan Hawthorn (Cycle Sport Pendle) took second on the day and second overall. Lewis Askey (Lichfield CCC) took third but Royal London's William Draper did enough to secure third overall.

Magan James (Abergavenny RC) was the best girl finisher with impressive 10th overall, 48 seconds behind Leivers. In the youth D category Fermoy CC's Eoin Birchall rode the race of his life to take an easy win on the day and the overall from Matthew Egglestone (Beacon Wheelers), Aaron Freeman (Chelmer CC) was 3rd. Ava May Oxley Szilaggi (Wakefield Junior Tri) was the highest placed girl overall.

Heavy rain could have played a major part in the mornings races but credit must go to all the riders who seemed to revel in it as they tackled 20 laps of the 1.2-kilometre Salt Ayre circuit.

The youth A boys race was as the previous day a hard fought battle with attacks going from the early laps. The Czech Republic riders were soon at the front on the early laps trying to stir proceedings up and force a break but the first break came on lap four with an attack by Thomas Bayliss, the Mid Devon CC rider who tried to force a split and was allowed to escape for a short while only to be brought back to the bunch the following lap.

Ben Chapman (Team Corley Cycles) made a move with North West's Ellis Kirkbride a few laps later and managed to get away for a short while only to be brought back by the bunch.

Attacks would be the nature for the remainder of the race, the slippy track proving to be the undoing of some riders who found themselves on the floor as the pace picked up.

With the laps counting down, riders were trying to jump off the front but the with the speed of the bunch increasing the race would certainly go down to a bunch sprint and it was Gabriel Cullaigh (RST Race Team) who took his second win of the weekend, Charlie Tanfield (VELO29) was a close second in the sprint but would go into the last day wearing yellow. Fabio Close (Velocity Race team) took third.

Melissa Lowther (Aire Valley Race Team) stamped her authority on the girls race to take a fine victory from WRV De Peddelaars’ Dapne Hommes and put herself in contention for the overall.

Hommes looked like she had a victory in mind in the first girls race of the day, staged over 15 laps of the 1.2-kilometres circuit at Salt Ayre.

She launched an attack on lap four with Jessica Wilkinson (Birkenhead North End) but didn't have the strength to stay away, team mate Esmee Oosterman took her chance on the following lap and managed to get a 20 second gap, and with the main bunch easing off the pace the escape could have stayed away but by lap seven the bunch was back as one.

Small groups kept trying to get away and none were really successful until two Welwyn Wheelers riders, Abigail Dentus and Lucy Harper managed to ride away. Maybe they should have stayed away for longer than they did, but the danger was spotted and the escape was relatively short lived.

The deciding break came with six laps to go when Lowther and Hommes managed to break the elastic and ride away from the bunch. Abby-Mae Parkinson (RST Race Team Trigon) saw the danger and tried to solo across to the two but Lowther and Hommes were riding well together and with two laps to go had 20 seconds on the chasers.

The gap was closed a little as the bell rang but the chase was too late and the two stayed away till the line, Lowther took the sprint from Hommes. Grace Garner took the bunch sprint from first youth B girl Charlotte Broughton.

In the youth B boys race it was a strong looking Dion McCarthy (Fermoy CC) who took the sprint from Royal London 360's Matthew Draper and pretty much secured the overall with his third win of the weekend. Matthew Walls (Velocity Racing Team) took third spot.

In a frantic Youth C race it was Alistair Leivers (BYCA) who took a fine sprint victory from William Draper (Royal London 360) and kept his yellow jersey from the previous day. Nathan Hawthorn (Cycle Sport Pendle) took third less than a second adrift of second place.

Matthew Egglestone (Beacon Wheelers) secured his second win of the weekend in the D/E race, just holding off Eoin Birchall (Fermoy CC) into second spot. The young riders had the worst of the weather and finished their five laps a bit worse from the heavy rain, Towy Riders Guto Dafydd rode well to take third spot.

Day One

Youth A Boys, Race 1

A well executed sprint by RST Racing Team's Gabriel Cullaigh saw him take the win in the first race of the youth A field at the UCLan Sports Arena in Preston, after a crash at the end of lap two saw the race restarted.

Tight racing by the field saw many escapes off the front soon reeled back, the group looking content to save their energy till the final few metres. The pace was high and for most of the race the bunch was strung out all trying to keep a wheel during the race over eight laps of a one-mile circuit.

North West Region and Team Wales were mixing the racing up and were dominant throughout but couldn't snap the elastic to make their getaway. On lap five it was RST's Levi Moody who tried his luck and made the jump off the front but the bunch were not going to let the rider get away and was soon pulled back into the bunch.

The pace eased on the following lap for a short while but Harry Crew(Derby Mercury) tried his hand and along with another rider tried to make the break and managed to stay away for a short while before the group increased the pace and reeled the escapees back in. The bunch stayed together for the bunch sprint with Cullaigh timing his charge to perfection.

VELO29's Charlie Tanfield made sure of the win in the 2nd Youth A boys race, turning the tables and beating race 1 winner Gabriel Cullaigh into second spot over 25 laps of the one-mile circuit.

As the first race, the pace was high from the gun and for the majority of the 25 laps the group were together. The Czech Republic team were the main protagonists for much of the race each taking their turn to try and make the break, Pavel Gruber along with Levi Moody (RST race team) and Joel Kelly(Mid Devon CC) made the early jump on lap 4 sneaking out a small gap but were back in the bunch by the start of the next lap.

Alex Braybrooke (Velocity RT) took his chance and along with Ben Chapman (Team Corley Cycles) looked as though they could keep away at least for a few laps but as was the order of the day the bunch were having none of it and the two were soon back in the bunch.

Edinburgh RC's Sean Noon, Jakub Honzik, James Shaw and again Pavel Gruber all chanced their arm but it was to no avail. With 5 laps to go it was Jack Ravenscroft (Solihull CC) along with Levi Moody that put a useful looking attack into the bunch and the turn of speed took them by surprise and the 2 looked as though they hold out to the line, with 4 to go the 2 were joined by Matt Gibson (North West Region) and Charlie Tanfield and with the main group seeming to ease off the gas the attackers started to make a serious gap.

With 3 laps to go, ravens croft was spent and was captured back into the pack. The pace was starting to increase and the lone 3 would struggle to hold off the chasing pack and were caught with 2 laps remaining. With the bell ringing it was Christian Braybrooke (Velocity Race Team) who made the jump for glory but it would be too little too late and the victory came from an explosive sprint by Tanfield to snatch victory from Gabriel Cullaigh.

A fine sprint finish from Eleanor Dickinson (Beacon Wheelers) gave the youth B girl victory over Grace Garner (RST race team Trigon) in the Youth A/B girls race staged over 15 laps of the one-mile circuit.

The nature of the circuit didn't really allow any serious breakaways throughout the race but it was Daphnee Hommes (WRV de Peddelaars) who made the first attempt to escape only to be brought back to the group where she would stay for the remainder of the race.

Abby-Mae Parkinson(RST Ra Team Trigon) stirred things up on lap three with a showing on the front but wasn't allowed any time away and was soon reeled in. Attacks were thick and fast with riders trying their luck to get away but there weren't any serious attempts to stay away. With the bunch together at the bell it would remain that way to the line where Dickinson made the jump and took the sprint from Garner.

Grace Garner made no mistake in the second A/B girls race, taking the victory from Team Wales' Emily Nelson over 20 laps of the one-mile circuit.

The youth A girl rode a perfect race and waited till the last few meters to take the sprint from the bunch.

It was Esmee Oosterman (WRV DE Peddelaars) who made the early attack, coming over the bridge the Dutchgirl increased her speed and managed to pull a small gap to the chasing bunch which she kept for a few laps only to be reeled back in.

RST were taking the race to everyone and it was Lauren O'Brien who went to the front of the group mid race and increased the speed which split the group for a while, only the stronger girls managing to get back on.

The race pretty much neutralised itself until the bell lap when Megan barker(Team Wales), Daphnee Hommes and Melissa Lowther(Aire Valley Race Team) tried to escape but were unsuccessful. With the bunch back together it looked as though the victory would come from a sprint and it was Garner who popped out of the front to take the victory.

British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.